Day Trip - how long drive

[ronandannette]

Oh sorry, I misunderstood the question.

You weren't the only one, which made the rest of us wonder if we'd misunderstood it ourselves.

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

I'm getting to the point that I debate renting a hotel room for our weekly trip to the grocery store.

 

[bcla]

There's a Mobil motor oil commercial about a guy who says he works in NYC but lives in Schenectady because his family loves it there. I'm just imagining a 3 hour one hour commute (in clear traffic) every day.

In my youth up to today I've done day trips from the San Francisco Bay Area to Redding, Santa Cruz, Monterey/Pebble Beach, Sacramento, and even Reno. Also when I've been on vacation or visiting relatives, we've made "day trips" that included going from Seattle to Vancouver. Of course on a long road trip, an 8 hour drive isn't all that unusual.

 

[disneychrista]

LOL, when dh and I moved out to CA I was so excited to be an hour away from the beach. We packed up the car, all the beach stuff for our dd but when we got there the first thing we had to do was buy sweatshirts for all of us.

We moved to Northern California from Southern California when I was 12. The first time we went to the coast, a few months after we moved, I was thinking BEACH like I was used to. NOPE! NorCal Beaches are very different from SoCal Beaches. I like to say in NorCal you go to the Coast, in SoCal you go to the Beach.

Not sure if I understand the question. Do you mean for a round trip in a day? Or maximum amount of time in a car in a single day?

Yes one day. Drive there, have fun, Drive home.

 

[sonnyjane]

We moved to Northern California from Southern California when I was 12. The first time we went to the coast, a few months after we moved, I was thinking BEACH like I was used to. NOPE! NorCal Beaches are very different from SoCal Beaches. I like to say in NorCal you go to the Coast, in SoCal you go to the Beach.
.

And now that I'm in Washington, I go to the yard to get a tan lol.

 

[powellrj]

My dad now lives 3 hours away, we make lots of 6 hour round trips these days.

 

[ols386]

But how long did you drive?

13 hours

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Mmmm, longest I've ever done is about 7/8 hours round trip.

 

[ols386]

13 hours

I think I answered incorrectly. I drove about 13 hours from Nashville TN to Orlando. Longest I've driven for day trip from HOME, is 4 hours (one way) Michigan to central Indiana, to see my Dad.

 

[disneychrista]

OP, I'd look at hotels again. You might not find a great deal right on the beach, but I just did a search and there are plenty of hotel rooms for $100-$150. You could make it a 2-day and explore Monterey too.

I did a quick look at Hotwire and might be able to get a motel under $100ish. If I can I might just stay. I can't do Monterey this trip as I have to go to Oakland the following day.

 

[xlxo]

For a 6-8 hour day and then drive home? You're an iron man!

Not proud of it.... was a trip when all the hotels were full. Had to keep driving a few extra hours to find other towns with cheaper rooms. I think differently now. I start booking/planning my hotel room for the night at 5pm, especially during the summer where hotels can be sold out by 9pm.

As mentioned.... there's a lot of conditions. Other's I forgot to include.

• eating small meals. Big meals makes me sleepy.
• taking appropriate breaks when tired. Perhaps napping in a parkade.
• plan meal breaks when road congestion is highest.
• roads with "cat's eyes" and multilane makes it much easier for truckers to pass.
• I'm driving alone with no kids. I can drive or stop as my body tells me to.
• getting older now.. have to dial back to 10 to 12 hours a day.

 

[Poohforyou]

I think this is one of those "things I'm amazed people don't understand posts". I'd say 3-4 hours each way would be our limit in a single day. Though I can't think of where we'd need/want to go that we wouldn't be able to get a hotel for a night.

 

[mom2rtk]

I did the 3 1/2 hour trip to my son's college (to pick him up or drop him off) way too many times over the last 4 years. (So 7 hours total driving). Sometimes I stayed longer than others before turning around and heading home (but always same day except drop-off as a freshman and pick-up after graduation).

 

[disneychrista]

Though I can't think of where we'd need/want to go that we wouldn't be able to get a hotel for a night.

For me it is not always can't get a room, just don't want to (not in this case though). I did a 3 hour trip this past fall. Left home at 8 am got home at 10pm, spent about 8 hours exploring. No traffic to deal with though.

I also think it is the area you live. If you live in a more rural area, like I do, you do more driving for day trips. 2 - 3 hours is normal. And in fact will do it a couple times a month.

 

[soccerdad72]

Generally speaking, 2 to 2 1/2 one way is about my limit. My parents live 2 hours away by car and we've often gone in just for the day.

Worst day trip we've done didn't actually start from our home. My older son had a soccer tournament one year where he played a morning game, then we drove 2 1/2 hours to my nephew's First Communion and left the party that night to drive back to the hotel where the tournament was at for a game the next morning. We started the day at about 9am and got back to the hotel around midnight that night.

ETA: I forgot about another side trip from years ago - my wife and I did a day trip from Vegas (pre-kids) to the Grand Canyon. Didn't realize it was a 4 hour one-way trip (this is also pre-GPS) and we didn't have a hotel room booked in AZ. We spent maybe 2 hours at the canyon and headed back to Vegas. Not the wisest decision we made on that trip.

 

[mamamary]

My mom lives about 3 hours away and we do alot of one day trips to visit. But we also have to look for parking (lives in NYC) which can add time (and stress) to the trip. We recently drove to Ocean City, MD for the day. Took about 3 hours to get there. We spent about 5 hours there and then drove home. Seems like 3 hours is our limit.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Hmmm...I guess around two hours there and two hours back would be my limit.

 

[xlsm]

5 hours each way. It's not fun, but our family lives a minimum of two hours away, with the farthest being 5 hours away. For MIL's birthday, we drove up and did her surprise party for a couple of hours, then turned around and came home. They're five hours from here.

My cousin's high school graduation was in May, and that was 4.5 hrs. Up and back in one day, with a blown tire on the interstate thrown in for good measure.

For my niece's birthday each year, I drive the 3.5 hours to my hometown for her party, then turn around and come back.

For fun things, we've been known to do the 3.5 hours to Kansas City a couple times a year. The drive up there isn't bad, it's always the drive home that's the hard part!

 

[dotfurio]

Probably 3-4. Really it depends on what I'm doing there. If it's an active trip then less driving time because I don't want to be exhausted for a long drive home.

 

[disneychrista]

The drive up there isn't bad, it's always the drive home that's the hard part!

The drive back is always the hardest part of any road trip. Even if you stayed somewhere for a few days in between.